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Blake Bortles, center, from Central Florida, takes a call before being selected third overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the first round of the NFL football draft, Thursday, May 8, 2014.

NEW YORK – Before dashing back to Jacksonville (8 a.m. flight) and the Blake Bortles press conference at EverBank Field (noon), some morning-after thoughts on last night’s first round and a look ahead to the second round:

*I find it impossible to be critical of the Jaguars for taking Central Florida quarterback Blake Bortles with the third overall pick. They found themselves in the rare position of having their pick of any quarterback in the draft – so they took advantage of it.

Because another quarterback didn’t go until No. 22 (Manziel to Cleveland), some thought the Jaguars could have/should have traded down and still taken Bortles. I don’t think he would have slipped past Minnesota at No. 8.

*The Jaguars start the day sitting at No. 39 and the board appears to be in good shape for them to get a receiver or interior offensive linemen.

At receiver, USC’s Marqise Lee, Vanderbilt’s Jordan Matthews, Indiana’s Cody Latimer, Fresno State’s Davante Adams and Mississippi’s Donte Moncrief remain on the board, a surprise considering how highly-regarded the receiver class was. Most thought there would be a run on receivers in the last half of the round. Instead, from picks 21-32, only Florida State’s Kelvin Benjamin (Carolina) was drafted.

*At offensive line, no centers or guards went in round 1. The top centers are USC’s Marcus Martin and Colorado State’s Weston Richburg.

*Does Tennessee going with Michigan tackle Taylor Lewan at No. 11 represent an endorsement of quarterback Jake Locker? Doubtful. The Titans signed veteran back-up Charlie Whitehurst to take over when they give up on Locker. Tennessee completed its offensive line re-build – Lewan and Michael Oher are the tackles.

*No running backs in the first round. Again. And it’s to the point where it’s not even a surprise anymore.

*Interesting night for the Vikings. They reached for UCLA linebacker Anthony Barr at No. 9 (trading down one spot), tried to trade up later in the round for Manziel and then completed the night by trading with Seattle at No. 32 to take Louisville’s Teddy Bridgewater. Does former Florida State quarterback Christian Ponder even make it to training camp? (I’d cut him).

*Picks that I liked: Sammy Watkins to Buffalo (although the Bills gave up a 2015 first-rounder to trade up), Odell Beckham to the Giants (he went 12th overall; earlier this year, the Jaguars thought he might be on the board at No. 39 before his rise), Manziel to Cleveland and safety Deone Bucannon to Arizona (big hitter).

*Iffy picks: Barr to the Vikings (could have probably got him a lot later in the round), Dee Ford to Kansas City (can he even attempt to play the run or cover anybody?) and Jason Verrett to San Diego (shorter cornerback).

*I was surprised Jacksonville native Louis Nix didn’t go to a nose tackle-needy team in the first round. Expect him to go in the second round, along with Florida State’s Timmy Jernigan, whose stock had to be impacted by a report earlier this week of a failed drug test.

*What is Houston’s plan at No. 32 to start things tonight? Do the Texans trade for New England quarterback Ryan Mallett, which was reported to be in the works before the first round started? Do they go back to the Carr Well and take Fresno State’s Derek Carr? Do they go another direction with LSU’s Zach Mettenberger or Alabama’s A.J. McCarron?